Vice President, Shettima, other leaders officially accept Gov.  Fintiri into APC in Yola

APCBy Yagana Ali Yola 

A Thousands filled Mahmud Ribadu Square Monday evening for the official reception of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri into the All Progressives Congress.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima, standing in for President Bola Tinubu, presented Fintiri with the party flag and broom and said outright that the governor “automatically” becomes APC leader in Adamawa, settling weeks of quiet debate over whether that role still belonged to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

“As we arrived in Yola, we were welcomed not only by the people but also by the worthy projects you have put in place,” Shettima told Fintiri, praising roads and schools visible along the route. 

He compared Adamawa’s arrangement to Borno’s, where governors lead their state chapters even as national figures serve in Abuja. APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda added that Fintiri should “sweep” remaining oppositions into the APC fold.

Fintiri,  praised Tinubu’s macro-economic program and the Renewed Hope Agenda, saying the reforms are beginning to bite in useful ways. He argued that Adamawa belongs in the same tent as Abuja if roads, classrooms and small traders are to move faster. “This isn’t about winning for one man,” he told the crowd. “It’s about having a direct line to the centre.”

Adamawa APC chairman Shuaibu Idris embraced him at the podium’s edge, calling Fintiri a political force whose projects—new township roads, a remodeled hospital, a stretched electricity line—are visible to commuters who once bumped through potholes.

Hope Uzodinma, Imo’s governor and chair of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, reminded people that the APC now runs most states, but said the point is delivery, not numbers.

 Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and national chairman Nentawe Yilwatda added quick congratulations and promises of party support.

Fintiri, who moved from the PDP in February with his cabinet and local structures, thanked Tinubu and Ribadu for their support and promised to run a “partnership, not a takeover.”

 He said his first recruitment success was bringing former ADC candidate Senator Abdulazeez Nyako back into APC on Sunday and pledged to keep reaching out. 

The audience included five APC governors led by Hope Uzodinma, deputies, ministers, and local youths.

For now, Fintiri’s defection has given the Square a rare night of unity,